The WWI centenary is a welcome reminder of journalists' duty to re-examine the past

The media is good at anniversaries. They offer an opportunity to reflect on events which were initially the subject of news coverage, to consider how people and places have been affected, and to present well known subjects in fresh ways.

Journalism, in that well worn aphorism, may indeed be the first draft of history. But journalists frequently offer revisions of their initial takes well before historians get their teeth into a subject.

A hundred years on from the end of the First World War, the media’s appetite for remembrance of that disastrous conflict remains strong.

That is driven in part by the fact that Armistice Day commemorations – especially as we reach the centenary this year – increasingly come with modern controversy attached.

In the Brexit era, when debates about nationalism, and indeed about militarism, appear to have reached a pitch of righteousness (on both sides), rows about poppy symbolism have themselves become emblematic of broader social divisions. Oh the irony.

Yet in a further paradox, the fact that there are such splits over how we should remember those killed by war proves why there is a continuing journalistic imperative to examine events of the past, rather than merely those of the present.

For one thing, the more that time passes, the more we find out: documents are found; archaeological finds shape our understanding; technology unwraps mysteries. Reporting such discoveries is a journalist’s bread and butter.

More than that though, the lessons of the past need to be remembered, even relearned – and that can be a job for mainstream media as much as for professional historians (journalists are often frustrated historians in any event).

Shedding new light on why wars occurred or re-examining the lives of those who were killed in the line of duty is not only an interesting end in itself, it may contribute something towards the prevention of future conflict.

Up to 19 million military personnel and civilians died as a result of the First World War. Those deaths should be the subject of journalistic coverage – today and in the future. Lest we forget.

Yours,

Will Gore
Executive editor